


Crack Under Pressure

by WorldOfDemons



Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, College AU, College!Jensen, F/M, Football Jensen!AU, Jensen Ackles - Freeform, Jensen Ackles fluff, Quarterback!Jensen AU, Reader Insert, Young Jensen Ackles, college jensen AU, football au, jensen fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-20
Updated: 2017-11-19
Packaged: 2019-02-04 13:35:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 16,419
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12772167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WorldOfDemons/pseuds/WorldOfDemons
Summary: Jensen Ackles is the star quarterback of the university. Everyone knows him and everyone has their hopes set on him leading the team to victory. But sometimes, that pressure can be too much.





	1. Chapter 1

The coffee shop was crowded. It was the day before the first home football game and you weren’t particularly happy about it. The crowds had descended, filling your usual study nook  leaving you to hide in the corner. The mass of people made you felt almost claustrophobic, like the wall were squeezing in on you. Still you were trying to work on one of the many papers you had due despite the chaos. Your headphones were plugged in, blasting your study playlist, trying to drown out the noise around you. Suddenly the volume surged around you and you looked up. A crowd had formed around the entrance. You rolled your eyes and turned back to your paper. You were just ready for the games to be over, so you could have your quiet town back. 

 

You finished up the paragraph you were working on and reached around to grab a book from your backpack when a scuffle from behind you made you glance up. Seconds later someone ran into you, their iced coffee dumping down the front of your shirt. 

 

“Oh shit,” a deep voice exclaimed as you jumped out of your chair. The guy grabbed a handful of napkins and passed them to you. 

 

“I’m so sorry,” he muttered and shifted uncomfortably, as you tried to dry yourself. 

 

“I’m fine,” you assured him looking up to meet his eyes for the first time, bright green and eerily familiar. First thing you noticed was how gorgeous he was. You had always heard of hearts skipping beats, but you never thought you’d actually meet someone that would make you want to drool over. Second thing was how cold the iced coffee was. You pulled your shirt away from you only to have it stick back to your skin. 

 

“I’m just glad it was iced not hot,” you commented and he smiled for the first time ducking his head. Butterflies fluttered in your stomach as he looked up at you again. 

 

“You’re in my history class right?” he asked looking back up at you, his eyes bright and you remembered where you had seen him. 

 

“Oh! You sit in the back right?” you remembered brushing past him when you were late for class. 

 

“Yeah, and you sit right in the front. Always ready to talk. I couldn’t do it,” he shook his head. “I could barely email him and ask for the paper topics,” he ran a hand across the back of his neck nervously. 

 

“It shouldn’t be too hard, the topics are fairly broad… I could help you out if you needed it.” you offered and he looked up at you. Nerves hit you as you realized what you were doing. Talking to a very cute boy in a coffee shop… this was the stuff of cheesy romance novels and so not you. 

  
“That’d actually be nice,” he admitted and you relaxed. He unconsciously leaned towards you trying to get closer in the crowded cafe. Something about him put you at ease, his eyes were kind and though you could tell he was shy, he still felt open to you. 

 

“How’s tomorrow? I can meet you at the library if that works,” you suggested and he laughed quietly. 

 

“Planning to be a little busy tomorrow, game and all,” he reminded you. Despite your indifference to the game, you didn’t care if the rest of the city wanted to work themselves into a frenzy 

 

“Oh right, that’s a thing. You’re planning to go?” you asked still trying to keep your soaked shirt from sticking to you and he laughed a bit harder. 

 

“I’m kinda the quarterback, so yeah I’m planning to be there. Look, you watch the game tomorrow, I guarantee you’ll be able to find me,” he grabbed a napkin and a pen from his pocket. 

 

“Here’s my number,” he scribbled on the napkin. “You go get out of that shirt and text me tomorrow after the game okay?” he held napkin out to you. “And I really am sorry,” he gestured at your coffee soaked shirt. Smiling a bit, you took the scribbled on paper. 

 

You glanced down at it.  _ Jensen Ackles #13 706-546-0014  _ This couldn’t be real. It was just a number, it didn’t really mean anything, but could it turn into more? 

 

“Jay, come on, coach wants us back,” one of his friends called from the door and he started to back away. He glanced over his shoulder before turning back to you, a flash of regret that he had to leave you. 

 

“Text me tomorrow? Promise?” he asked and you giggled. 

 

“Okay,” you agreed. He grinned and backed out the door. You started packing up your stuff when Jensen ran back in. A clatter as he ran into a table caught your attention and made you look up at him again. For an athlete he really seemed to be a klutz. 

 

“What’s your name?” he called out over the crowd, his height allowing him to see over the crowd. 

  
“Y/N!” You called out throwing your backpack over your shoulder. 

 

“Y/N,” he repeated. He smiled and . “I’ll remember that.” 

 

*** 

 

You spent your Saturday curled up on the couch with your computer open to the basics of football. Your family hadn’t been involved in football and you generally couldn't care less. You had read over the basics but you still could barely keep up. 

 

“And number 13 Ackles with possession passing off to Novak who is in the clear for a first down,” the announcer narriated. 

 

“Well I think that was impressive,” you muttered as you tried to keep up with wear the ball was. By half time you figured just watch where the players tackled and that was generally where the ball was. The game passed slowly and honestly you didn’t pay attention to most of it unless Jensen was in the game. He was almost a different person on the field. The camera would occasionally zoom in on his face. His expression, hard and serious, so different from the light and sparkling boy you ran into at the coffee shop. He was fierce as he took the field, in complete control. You couldn’t help but cringe as he was almost constantly hit, but it didn’t seem to phase him. 

 

Slowly, your attention waned and you flipped between working on some homework. It wasn’t that you didn’t care, you just weren’t as involved as most people were. They eventually pulled out a win, just a few points ahead of the other team. Not that you knew, you had fallen asleep during the third quarter. You woke up again and the sun had set while the announcers had started discussing the game. You scrambled around and found your phone stuck between the cushions of the couch. 

 

“Good game, you did great! (This is Y/N by the way, from the coffee shop)” you texted Jensen, hoping he wouldn’t wonder about the massive gap between the end of the game and you texting. You wandered to the kitchen in search of dinner when you phone buzzed again in your back pocket. 

 

_ Thanks, Y/N. Glad you watched.  _ It buzzed again immediately. 

_ You going downtown tonight? We could meet up.  _ You set your leftover pizza in the microwave before answering. 

_ Not really my thing, but I’ll see you in class Monday. _

_ Yeah, I’ll see you then. _

 

***

 

Jensen looked tired as he came into the classroom Monday afternoon, but his eyes lit up as you made your way back to him. You hopped up on the desk in front of him, your legs swinging. The butterflies came back as he smiled up at you. You tried not to get too excited, but you couldn’t help but let your mind wander. 

 

“Long weekend?” You asked and he shook his head. 

 

“Got tossed around a bit Saturday,” he commented and you nodded. 

 

“Yeah some of those hits were hard, I was kinda worried for a bit,” you admitted freely and he smiled. He was easy to talk to. Something about him put you at ease as if you had known him for years instead of talking five minutes in a coffee shop. 

 

“I’m used to the tackles by now,” he brushed off your fear. 

 

“I’d still love the help with the paper, if you’re still willing,” Jensen mentioned and you nodded. As soon as you agreed, he visibly relaxed. Despite his easy going nature, you could still feel the shy nervousness rolling off of him. 

 

“Sure, got anything after class today?” you asked and he shook his head. 

 

“Wait,” he groaned, “practice, how did I forget that,” he groaned and you giggled a bit. You had expected him to try and play the cool guy, not let himself be imperfect. 

 

“Talking to a cute girl, I guess, get it together Jay,” he muttered under his breath and you clapped a hand over your mouth to stop from laughing. Your face rushed with warmth as you picked up on his “cute girl” comment and giddy buzzing set in as you realized he was just as interested in you as you were in him. Jensen groaned and dropped his head onto his arms when he realized you heard that. Adorable and dorky, was someone supposed to be this perfect? He looked back up and fidgeted with his pen. 

 

“Sorry,” he muttered, a slight blush rising on his freckled cheeks. He leaned back and ran his fingers through his short hair. 

 

“You know, facing a 300 pound linebacker is less intense than talking to you right now,” he admitted and you felt a stone drop in your stomach. 

 

“I’m sorry,” you muttered about to slid off the desk and disappear when he looked up at you scared. 

 

“Not you! I’m just… well shy. Talking to girls isn’t easy, especially when they’re as gorgeous and as smart as you,” he rushed out and it was your turn to blush. 

 

“Can we just start over?” he asked grimacing. He held his hand out to you. 

 

“Hi. I’m Jensen, I am sorry I dumped coffee on you but I’d love to meet up with you sometime and work on a paper,” you laughed a bit as his humor shone through. You reached out and took his hand, shaking it gently. 

 

“I’m Y/N and despite being covered in your coffee, I’d love to study with you sometime,” You pulled away and he grinned making your stomach flip with excitement. You let your mind escape you despite you imagined this flirting between you two slowly developing into more. Your thoughts jumped to him walking with you, your hand tightly in his. You imagined going out on dates and gentle kisses until you pulled yourself back to the present. 

 

“It’s a date,” he responded and you watched him cringe like he was mentally kicking himself. 

 

“It’s a date,” you confirmed and he smiled nervously at you. He opened his mouth to say something else, but professor chose that exact moment to walk into the room. 

 

“Text me after?” you asked and Jensen nodded as you made your way back to your normal desk. You weren’t able to focus at all during the class. You fidgeted with your pencil and bounced your leg unable to sit still. The second the professor announced he was finished, you turned in your desk to look back at Jensen. It felt like ice clenched around your heart as a girl giggled at something he murmured. Naturally, you were just homework help. You tried to fight the tears that started to well up in your eyes. Brushing the few that fell you quickly made your way out of the classroom and to the bus stop. He would text you, you’d finish this paper, and that would be it. End of story. 


	2. Chapter 2

You tried to fight the ache in your chest for the next day or so. You thought it would get better when -  _ if _ \- Jensen actually texted you. You spent your Monday night curled up in bed with Netflix with a bowl of popcorn. Your heart jumped when your phone buzzed buried under your pile of blankets. The dull buzz of anxiety settled under your skin as you slowly picked up your phone. 

 

_ I’m free after 4 tomorrow if you still want to get together.  _ Groaning quietly, you flopped back down on your bed, your pillows drawing you in. Did you really want to get involved with this? You could easily just tell him you were busy, let him forget you existed. Any fantasy you had could fade, but just the thought struck a chord with you. You didn’t want to let him go. You didn’t want to let whatever spark you may have felt between you burn out, but you also couldn’t get the sight of that girl giggling over him out of your head. You rolled over and shoved your face into a pillow. Your phone vibrated again to remind you of the text. You tossed the phone at the end of the bed glaring at it in frustration. You didn’t know what you wanted to do. Part of you just wanted to stop overthinking and the other half just wanted to run and kiss him. 

 

You crawled back to the end of your bed and grabbed your phone. You rolled onto your back and started at the message. Finally you gave in. You weren’t stupid. It could all end badly, you could get hurt, or absolutely nothing could happen, but that wasn’t going to stop you from trying. You fought with yourself over what to do. This could end so terribly for you. The chance of you getting your heart ripped out, and you weren’t even sure if he wanted a relationship or anything. For all you knew, he just wanted a study partner for this paper. But if you didn’t take the chance, how would you know at all? You grabbed your phone and opened the text.  _ Sure! How does 4:30 sound?  _ You sent off quickly before dropping the phone back onto your stomach. He answered immediately.  _ That sounds great, looking forward to it _ . 

 

*** 

 

You went straight to the library after class, a hour before you were supposed to meet Jensen. Your headphones were plugged in and your study music was turned on, your playlist of film score blocking out the other students around you. Books were scattered on top of the table, sticky notes and highlights littered through all of them. You were so absorbed that you didn’t even notice Jensen walking up until he pulled out the chair across from you. 

 

“Aren’t you focused,” he commented when you pulled your headphones off. You couldn’t really think of an answer as he sat down; you just moved the books out of the way. He opened his book bag and pulled out his laptop. 

 

“How much of this paper have you gotten done?” he asked and you spun your computer around showing him the two pages you had finished. 

 

“Nice,” he said nodding and he turned his own around showing you his progress. You were looking at a blank page.

 

“I’ve got nothing,” he said simply and you clapped a hand over your mouth to try and hold in your laughter. 

 

“Help,” he requested pouting playfully and you couldn’t help but take pity on him. Your hand came up and covered your mouth as you giggled which made him pout even more. 

 

“Fine,” you rolled your eyes dramatically, grinning, “pull up the prompt, we’ll start with that.”  

 

Two hours later, you and Jensen had steadily worked on your papers. You had finished your rough draft while he managed to get almost two pages done. He passed you his computer and you were reading over what he had done when two girls walked up to your table. 

 

“I’m sorry, but are you Jensen Ackles?” one of them giggled and you rolled your eyes. 

 

“Yeah,” he answered smiling up at her as the girl and her friend continuing their relentless giggling. You tried to focus on the words on the screen but your attention was pulled back again. Whatever they were saying, you didn’t even want to listen, their mere presence threatening to lower your IQ. Soon you heard Jensen’s voice break through their vapid ramblings. 

 

“Well it was nice meeting you both, but I really do have this paper to work on,” he slid the computer out from in front of you and you looked up at him. Sure he was smiling, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. Your head tilted to a bit to the side as you tried to read him. One of them glared subtly at you and you dropped your gaze to the notebook on the table.  Eventually, they both walked away. The silence was awkward when they left. Before, it had been a comfortable quiet but now it just off. You awkwardly drew little circles in your notebook trying to keep your hands busy. All the thoughts that plagued you when you were setting this up came back. All he wanted from you was a study partner, that’s all he needed when he hand all these other girls falling at his feet. His voice surprised you as he spoke up. 

 

“I hate that so much,” Jensen admitting in a rush and your eyes widened in surprise. 

 

“The constant attention, the fans - especially the girls. I didn’t want this, I barely wanted to play football - “ he stopped short. 

 

“You don’t like the attention?” you asked quietly and he shook his head. 

 

“Never have,” he confessed, “especially from those airheaded, cookie cutter, girls,” he scoffed and you smiled as he seemed to have the same opinion that you did.  You ducked your head looking down into your lap, a piece of hair escaping and falling into your face. His chair scraped and he leaned across the table. He gently lifted your head to look up at him and he brushed your hair back away from your eyes. 

 

“Don’t hide your smile, please?” he requested and you gave him a tiny smile. Relief flooded you. That girl in the coffeeshop, he didn’t want to talk to her. He didn’t want her attention. He wanted yours. He didn’t care about all the girls around him, but he paid attention to you, he gave his number to you. Heat rushed to your cheeks and you felt yourself blushing. Your stomach was twisting with butterflies as he smiled and you had to remind yourself to breathe. 

 

“Okay,” you whispered and he sat back in his chair and pulled his computer back to him. 

 

*** 

Two weeks later you were talking every day. Conversations between the two of you flowed over easily, nights spent staying up until 3am talking about nothing and everything. 

 

You took a bite from your apple as you climbed the stairs to your apartment, your phone buzzing in your hand. 

 

“Hey,” you answered and Jensen’s voice came through. 

 

“Question,” he was never one for delay. “Are you going to the game Saturday? I know it’s short notice and you don’t have a ticket but I can get you in no problem. You were studying last week and I’d really like for you to come this time,” Jensen rambled and the butterflies filled your stomach again. You had figured that eventually they’d fade but if anything they were more intense. 

 

“Yes, Jay, sure I’ll go,” you answered digging your keys out of your backpack. “Just tell me when and where,” you managed to find your keys and get into the small apartment. 

 

“I want you to sit with my parents,” he rushed out. You dropped your keys in shock. 

 

“Wait, what?” you asked stooping down to pick them up again. Anxiety made your hands shake as you stepped inside and slipped your backpack off your shoulders kicking the door closed behind you. You hadn’t talked about meeting parents yet. 

 

“My mom, my dad, little brother,” Jensen said and you sat down on the couch. You pulled in a few deep breaths trying to calm the nerves, your mind racing a million miles a minute. It felt like everything was moving so fast, but meeting his parent was the next logical step for a couple - but were you a couple? 

 

“Y/N?” Jensen asked and you realized he was waiting for your response. 

 

“Jay, what are we?” you asked quickly. “Are we study partners, friends? More?” you mentally kicked yourself for speaking without thinking, but there wasn’t anything  you could do about it. Jensen didn’t say anything for the longest time. Your heart raced with panic and you almost thought he had hung up on you. Finally, he spoke again. 

 

“What do you want this to be? Cause honestly, Y/N, I want this to be something special and I think it can be - I know it can be,” he said and the breath rushed out of your lungs. You felt every possible emotion at once. You were relieved he felt the same emotions for you as you did for him, that fact that he was ready for you to meet his parents made you giddy with excitement, but you still had panic at that same thought. 

 

“Yeah, I think I want this to be more too,” you answered and Jensen laughed. 

 

“Good,” he said and you could hear the relief in his voice. You had to fight to control the laugh that threatened to escape. Everything came crashing down as you realized what had just happened. You had agreed to start officially dating, but you also agreed to meet his parents in less than a week. Your emotions fought with each other, excitement and terror both at the same time. 

 

“So you’re going to go in Gate 5…” 

 

***

Less than a week later, you pulled your jacket closer around your body as you walked up to the gate. A cold front had moved through and the warmth of summer had faded to the chill of fall.  You glanced at your phone again and checked the text Jensen had sent. You were the one of the only people waiting in line around the gate, this one much emptier than the others you had passed, and the sign above told you why. “Player Family Entrance” Seeing that did nothing to help your nerves as the reality of meeting Jensen’s parents hit you yet again. The entire week up you had done a fairly good job of hiding your nerves from Jensen, but he had still picked up on it. The two of you had spent an afternoon going through his facebook and you had an idea of how they looked and what they liked, but that didn’t do too much to calm you down, you had still woken up with, not butterflies in your stomach but more like a nest of hornets. Digging out your student ID, you showed it to the attendant. He checked his computer and nodded at you. 

 

“Go on in,” he ordered sharply and you scurried through the heavy door. You could hear the noise from the crowd as you made your way through the dark hallway, the dark soon giving way to the bright of day, the cheers of the crowd getting louder. The first time you found yourself in the stadium wasn’t disappointing. There were people everywhere, all screaming, shouting, and laughing. It was a bustle of activity that was borderline overwhelming. You dug your phone out of your back pocket and pulled up Jensen’s text again.  _ Section 145, Row 32, the outside seats, you can’t miss them, _ he had sent you. 

 

“Jeffrey, Samantha, and Jared,” you muttered trying to calm your nerves. Meeting your very new boyfriend’s parents for the first time, without him even being there, made your hands tremble. You had seen their pictures, knew random facts like his mom didn’t cook and his dad coached little league, but that didn’t help calm your nerves. You repeated the names over and over as you made your way down the steps, stopping at row 32. 

 

“Y/N?” a woman’s voice called out and your head snapped up. Jensen had shown you pictures of his family and you recognized his mom. She stood up and crossed over to stand in the aisle before pulling you into a hug. 

 

“Jensen has told us all about you,” she gushed before pulling away, her smile bright. Her easy going disposition made you easily relax. 

 

“It’s nice to meet you Mrs. Ackles. I’ve heard so much about you all” you said and she waved you away. 

 

“Why so formal, call me Sam,” she instructed you and you smiled relaxing even further. Her hand settled on your back and she gently led you into the row of seats. 

 

“Of course this is Jeff,” she introduced you to the man still seated, his rough salt-and-pepper beard and mess of black hair familiar from the pictures Jensen had shown you. He held out his hand and you took it. 

 

“Normally, I’d stand but we’re a bit tight on space here,” he joked and you laughed a bit as you stepped further in. 

 

“And you’re Jared,” you spoke up reaching to take the youngest man’s hand. 

 

“Jensen never shuts up about you,” you mentioned and Jared ducked his head smiling. He shifted over and gave you the seat between him and Samantha. 

 

“Heard you’re quite the soccer player,” you turned towards Jared and he flashed a smile. 

 

“Team won State last year, we put in a lot of work.” You were going to reply when the music from the speakers started blasting. 

 

“Jay said you were an English major,” Jared started and you felt the heat rise to your cheeks, thankfully covered by the chill of the breeze. You figured Jensen had talked about you to his family, but hearing it in person was different. 

 

“I was actually considering going into English. Wanted to ask you about that,” he finished, not noticing your blush. 

 

“English is good for pre-law…” you casually mentioned and watched the color rise on Jared’s face. Apparently he had the same feelings as you about being talked about by his brother. He was about to answer when music started blasting over the stadium speakers. 

 

“What’s happening?” You shouted over the noise covering your ears. You could feel the beat of the music pulsing through your chest. Jared leaned in close. 

 

“They’re about to come out from the tunnel. Jay’s number 13,” you could barely hear him. You couldn’t help but grin as smoke and streamers flew out from the entrance down below the stadium. Jared jumped to his feet screaming and cheering as the team ran out. You quickly found yourself on your feet next to him cheering along with the rest of the crowd around you. The energy of the stadium was infectious as the game began. You still weren’t 100% sure what was happening throughout the game. Jared would occasionally sense your confusion and lean over to clear up a penalty or something, but for the most part you were pretty proud of your abilities to keep up. The energy built as the last few seconds ticked by. They were still trailing by 3 but were close enough to score. 

 

“Come on, Jay,” you could hear Jeff mutter, Samantha’s hands were tightly clenched in her lap. Jensen had taken a few hard tackles throughout the game which made you cringe every time. Samantha must have felt the same way; you had felt her cringe too with every hit Jensen took. Jeff had taken her hand at one point, holding her tight, making her relax slightly, but the hits still came as the game came to a close. Glancing up on the screen, you could see the camera zooming in on Jensen’s face. He was practically a different person on the screen, his expression intense and focused. You held your breath as the team got into position for the final play of the game. Jared grabbed your arm and you held onto him, both of you stressed about this last play. 

 

“You’ve got this, Jay, you know this play, you’ve got this,” he was muttering quickly. The field was a flurry of activity as the final play of the game started. Your heart jumped to your throat as you caught Jensen’s form on the field. Fear grabbed you as you saw a member of the other team make a rush for Jensen. You couldn't follow exactly what happened, you just found yourself on your feet screaming with the rest of the fans as Jay crossed into the endzone. Jared pulled you into a massive bear hug while the two of you jumped in place. Jared stopped and pulled his buzzing phone out of his pocket. 

 

“It’s Jay,” he muttered reading the text before looking back at you. 

 

“He has a plan,” he grinned. He pulled off his hoodie and motioned for you to do the same. Confused, you shrugged off your jacket and let him pulled his too big for you hoodie over his head. He pulled the hood over your head and tugged it down over your face. Your confusion was brushed away by Jared gently leading towards the aisle. 

 

“What’s happening? You asked over the screaming fans surrounding you. 

 

“Jay’s gonna meet you on the field,” he explained, but that didn’t really explain everything. You slid past his parents, Jared’s warm hand on your back leading you down the stairs to the bottom of the stadium. The two of you stepped through the gate to the field. You were overwhelmed by everything, the sound of the fans were amplified and the cameras from the press surrounding you blinded you despite the cloth pulled mostly over your face. Jensen pushed his way through the crowd and over to you. He pulled you into a hot, sweaty hug, but you really didn’t care. He picked you up and spun you around in his arms making you laugh loudly before he set you back down. He reached up and wiped the sweat from his forehead, his hair soaked despite the chill of the air around him. He adjusted the hood that covered your face, but didn’t explain the mystery of everything, not that you particularly cared. All you really cared about was seeing him in his element. The intense Jensen from on screen had vanished, replaced by the lighthearted Jensen you saw when you had been studying too hard and he took it upon himself to distract you. 

 

“You were amazing!” You yelled over the crowd and Jensen grinned. 

 

“I’m glad you think so,” he responded, he pulled out of the hug but kept you close. He tugged at his gloves and tucked them into his back pocket. His warm hands came up and cupped your flushed cheeks gently. Your body buzzed with excitement as he held onto you. His bright green eyes flicked down to yours as he leaned closer. The world stopped around you as soon as his lips touched yours. The din from the crowd faded and the lights disappeared. You moved up and wrapped your arms around his neck pulling him closer down to you. One of his hands slipped down to your back keeping you close to his chest. The kiss ended much too quickly for your liking, leaving you dazed and floating. Jensen immediately pulled you closer to his chest hiding your face from view of everyone around you. He moved you shuffling along the field until the noise faded and you were back in the tunnel. 

 

“Hey,” he whispered pulling you away and you grinned up at him. He had planned this, you realized. That was why he wanted your face covered by the hoodie. He didn’t want the cameras around you spreading your face across national television. It could’ve been a million girls in the stands that could’ve been with him at that moment, but it wasn’t. It was you. 

 

“Hi,” you returned and he wrapped his arms around you. 

 

“So how was your first game?” he asked and you couldn’t help but laugh. 

 

“Pretty eventful,” you giggled the high of energy still running through you making you feel giddy and light. You returned his tight hug, content to stay there as long as you could, not just now, but for as long as life would allow. 


	3. Chapter 3

You burrowed further into the warm depths under your covers before Jensen climbed on top of you. Knowing full and well what your boyfriend was up to, you didn’t want to leave the comfort of your bed much less the apartment. 

 

“Jay nooooo,” you whined as he tried to get you out from under your heavy comforter. He pulled it down just far enough for your head to poke out. 

 

“You’ve been to practice before with me, Coach is fine with you being there,” he tried to convince you and you glanced to the window. 

 

“Jay, it’s snowing - look! Frozen water is falling from the sky. I don’t wanna go sit out in the bleachers, it sucks enough going to the games for your stupid ass,” you grumbled screwing your eyes shut. He knew all too well his puppy dog eyes and pout was your weakness, but if you couldn’t see him… 

 

“Fine then, I guess I just have to stay here. I’ll get in so much trouble with Coach…” Jensen sighed dramatically and you groaned loudly. Cracking one of your eyes opened you instantly found yourself under his annoyingly effective spell. One look from him and you were at his mercy. It annoyed you to no end how he could convince you to do almost anything. You playfully pushed at his shoulders and got him to roll off of you. 

 

“Butt’s gonna be numb by the end of this,” you grumbled while grabbing your jacket and slipping a pair of jeans over your leggings. You playfully pushed past him on your way to the door. He retaliated by grabbing you by the waist and pulling you back against his chest. 

 

“What?” you grumbled still pretending to be upset.  

 

“You’re not mad, we both know you can’t stay mad at me,” he responded kissing the back of your neck. He wasn’t wrong.  

 

“You’re the worst,” you pouted pulling the door open making Jensen laugh at you. He followed close behind you as you both went down the stairs outside your apartment leading outside. You stopped right in front of the door not wanting to face the cold. Jensen reached around you and pushed the door open, the wall of cold hitting you. Jensen’s arms wrapped around you trying to help keep some warmth in you. The two of you shuffled to the car where you jumped in the passenger seat. Jensen ran around to quickly crank up the car and get the heat going. 

 

“Jay, it’s cold,” you said and he turned to pretend glare at you. 

 

“You get to be bundled up in the stands, I have to be out in like 2 layers,” he accused and you grinned. Turning around in your seat you grabbed the thick blanket that you kept there for games since the weather had turned cold. There weren’t many people on the roads as Jensen slowly made his way down the icy streets. Despite your lack of enthusiasm for the cold, you had to admit that there was a beauty in it. The way the light reflected off the ice and glittered on the snow still piled on the side of the road. Of course, that was from the warm inside of the car. Jensen pulled into a spot just outside the stadium. You climbed out of the car and wrapped the blanket tightly around your shoulders. Digging in the backseat, you managed to find your knit hat. You glanced back up at Jensen who was playfully trying to catch snowflakes on his tongue. 

 

“You’re such a dork,” you giggled and he shot a grin over to you. He stepped over and tugged the hat up. You leaned into his warm hands and he ducked down and pressed a kiss to your forehead before pulling the hat back down again. He held onto your arm as the two of you slipped and slid across the icy sidewalk. Finally you made it to the stadium in once piece where the ice and snow had been cleared away. 

 

Your footsteps echoed off the walls of the empty building. It was so different, still and quiet compared to the noise that usually filled the space. You sat at one of the end zones, close enough to see what was going on but far enough so you didn’t distract. Sitting on the thick blanket from the car, you pulled your hat down further over your ears trying to keep some feeling. The snow had luckily stopped falling, but the temperature still dipped below freezing. The boys were hard at work on the scraped off field. Practice didn’t stop, even the season ended. 

 

“Morning, Greenhorn” a rough voice came from behind you making you jump. 

 

“Coach Beaver,” you greeted smiling up at the older man behind you. He stepped over the bleacher and sat down next to you. The two of you sat in silence for a while watching the boys run their plays, Jensen leading them. 

 

“Do you see what I see?” he suddenly asked and you shook your head. 

 

“A bunch of guys running head first into each other? You probably see a lot more out there than I do,” you confessed and he chuckled. 

 

“Yeah, but I see a team working together more than I’ve ever seen them before. I see a quarterback out there leading his team and I can only think of one thing that’s changed over the season.” Your mind raced to connect the dots. 

 

“You think I have something to do with Jensen’s performance?” You asked shocked and he nodded.  Everything from shock and amazement to confusion and a bit of flattery. But surely you couldn’t have done much to change the team. Sure, they had done well during the season, but that couldn’t have been because of you. 

 

“I can’t have had anything to do with it,” you protested and he waved you off. 

 

“He’s a leader now, not just a player. He’s more focused. You’ve done more than you know. ” he assured you before standing. 

 

“Well, if I leave the boys to themselves long enough, eventually practice will stop being productive.” He left you in silence and made his way back down the stadium. You were lost in your thoughts for the rest of practice. 

 

“Hey,” Jensen pulled you out of your thoughts. You jumped a bit, startled; you hadn’t realized practice had almost ended. 

 

“You cold?” He teased and you rolled your eyes at his antics. No matter how many times he smiled at you, the butterflies never stopped. He never failed to make you feel giddy and excited, the feeling was intoxicating sometimes. 

 

“Nah, kinda warm actually,” you joked back. He grabbed your hands and rubbed them with his trying to get warmth back in you. 

 

“Come on down, wanna try something,” he pulled you to your feet and led you down the stadium steps. The coaches had cleared out leaving just the team on the field. Jensen lead you out onto the field leaving your blanket on the sidelines. 

 

“Okay, sweetheart, you’re going to be me for a bit,” he muttered in your ear standing behind you. You twisted in his hold trying to break away from him. 

 

“Wait what?” You protested but he kept his grip on you. He had taken you on the field before, it wasn’t anything new, but he had never done it during a practice. You were confused on what he meant as he guided you where he wanted you. The team didn’t scare you, Jensen had introduced you all and several had become close friends, but that didn’t stop the confusion when Misha shot you a playful smile. 

 

“It’s not as hard as you think” he tried to reassure you, but you were having none of it. 

 

“Can’t be if you do it,” you retorted still trying to figure out what he fully meant. Around you the rest of the team got into a loose formation. Realization slowly dawned as the pieces came together. Nerves quickly sat in. Sure, you had guy friends growing up, but you’d never learned how to properly throw a football. You could toss it well enough, but you didn’t have the honed skills the team did. 

 

“DJ is going to toss you the ball, Mish is going to get open, you throw the ball to Mish. It’ll be fun.” You rolled your eyes and finally allowed him to move you around without fighting. 

 

“Jay, I can’t throw a football,” you told him but he ignored your protests. It all happened quickly when Jensen finally got you into place. By some miracle you were able to catch the ball that was tossed at you. Searching for Misha, you found him and tried to throw the ball like you had watched Jensen do so many times before. Naturally it fell spectacularly short only making it about halfway to Misha. A pang of disappointment rang through you, but you weren’t surprised. The light laugh of the team put you at ease. No one including yourself really expected you to do well, but it was a silly game. 

 

“That was terrible!” you groaned playfully. Turning you ran straight into Jensen’s chest and let the rest of the team laugh. Jensen ran his hand up and down your back. 

 

“One more time, babe, you can do it,” he muttered. You had to admit, it was a bit fun even if you sucked at it. You turned back around and took a deep breath, the cold air stinging your lungs. Determined, you faced back around towards the rest of the team. 

 

“Okay, let’s do this,” you announced. A few team members that heard laughed quietly before getting back to their normal positions. The ball came at you again and you managed to catch it again, but this time when you tossed it to Misha, it soared ungracefully through the air but managed to get all the way to him. Your elation was short lived as something that felt like a truck slammed into you, knocking you to the ground. The air was knocked from your body and fear sucked every other emotion from your body. Your arms came up to hold your head and you felt a weight being pulled off of you. 

 

“Marcus! What the hell?” Jensen shouted as he pulled trucklike player off of you. The massive linebacker gave Jensen a grin that made you uneasy. Misha ran over and pulled you to your feet as you tried to get your breath back. 

 

“What? Hopefully she can take a hit, man, surely you’re giving them to her harder than that” Marcus shot you a sly wink that sent shivers down your spine. Jensen moved between the two of you and jumped in Marcus’ face. 

 

“What. The. Hell?” Jensen repeated through gritted teeth. You had seen him peeved after losing a game or a bad practice, but you had never seen him this pissed before. You hadn’t seen this side of him before and it almost scared you, but you were relieved he was defending you. Still, you weren’t scared of Jensen hurting you. You moved to step between them, break them up, but Misha kept his hold on your upper arms. 

 

“Let him do this. Marcus was in the wrong and needs to learn his place,” Misha whispered in your ear. 

 

“I’ve seen you hurt guys a lot bigger than her, Marcus,” Jensen growled and Marcus scoffed, rolling his eyes, but he didn’t back down. 

 

“I didn’t hit her that hard,” he brushed Jensen off but Jensen grabbed him by his uniform pulling him closer and getting into his face. It slightly worried you, Jensen was a bigger guy but Marcus was massive. You could see the tension in Jensen and the rage pouring off of him in waves. 

 

“You weren’t supposed to hit her at all,” Jensen spat out and Marcus shrugged nonchalantly before pulling himself out of Jensen’s hold. Jensen was about to grab him again when you pulled out of Misha’s hold and grabbed Jensen gently by the shoulder. 

 

“Jay, I’m fine,” you muttered but he still wasn’t looking at you. Grabbing his chin, you forced him to face you. He needed to calm down, see that you were safe. His point had been made, even if Marcus hadn’t fully received the message.

 

“Jensen, I’m okay,” you tried to get into his head and finally his eyes dropped to yours and instantly softened. He pulled you against his chest and held you for a few long seconds. You let him hold you and you relaxed into his arms.  

 

“Still cold, Jay,” you muttered pushing your nose into his chest. You felt him press a chaste kiss to the top of your head. 

 

“Let’s get you home,” he muttered leading you off the field. 

 

***

As soon as you stepped foot in your apartment the first thing you did was start the coffee maker to get something warm inside you. Jensen shut and locked the door behind you both as you moved to the other room to bump up the heat. Both of you made your way back to the bedroom, jackets and shoes getting tossed on the couch. You fell on the bed and dug yourself under the thick blankets. Jensen moved so he was on top of you, his body covering yours. 

 

“This isn’t the easiest way to warm up,” he muttered and you poked your head up from under the blankets. As soon as your face was in view he started peppering you with light kisses. Your face scrunched up as you giggled. He kept you so at ease, so relaxed. He made you feel so complete. You had watched more than a few chick flicks, but never felt the famous “puzzle piece falling into place” feeling that you had sighed over with your friends. But as cliched as it was, Jensen was your missing puzzle piece.

 

“Jay,” you playfully whined and wiggled around. Jensen rolled off of you and you winced a bit, your middle was suddenly sore. He didn’t notice your flinch and pulled the blankets up before joining you underneath. You forgot the pain around your middle as he started kissing gently down your neck, his hands toying with the hem of your shirt. But you gasped in pain as he ran his hands up your sides. Jensen immediately pulled away concern flooding his face. Without a word he tossed the blanket off and gently pulled your shirt up. Dark bruises were barely starting to form. That was going to hurt over the next few days. Jensen’s face instantly darkened. 

 

“I’m going to kill him,” he muttered and moved to get out of the bed but you grabbed him and pulled him back down. You didn’t need him on the war path, you needed him warm and in bed with you. You knew he wanted to protect you, be your knight in shining armor, but you wanted him with you more than you wanted him to kick Marcus’ ass. 

 

“Jensen, I’m fine. Really,” you insisted but he shook his head as he tried to climb out of the bed. You grabbed his arm and pulled him back to to the bed with you. He gently reached out and cupped your cheek gently. 

 

“I know how hard it is to bruise you. He have  to had hit you hard to leave marks,” he whispered. It broke your heart to see him hurting over you. Scooting closer to him, you grabbed his arm and wrapped it around your waist so he could pull you close his hold loose to keep from hurting you more. Your head resting on his chest, you could hear his heart beating steadily. Slowly, you drifted to sleep as he pulled a blanket around both of you. 

 

“I was pretty proud of you, ya know,” he muttered pulling you back and you hummed in response, too tired to speak. 

 

“Nice little toss to Mish, but we really have to teach you how to throw a proper spiral.” Despite everything, he could still make you laugh quietly as you curled up against his chest and enjoying the warmth of having him. 


	4. Chapter 4

Your leg bounced nervously while the rest of the crowd around you cheered. They were just watching a football game, but you knew how invested the team was in this game. You bit your lip and leaned into Jared’s shoulder. The one year anniversary for you and Jensen came. Thankfully it wasn’t on a game day or practice, so the two of you were able to go out. Even with Misha texting Jensen relentlessly trying to get a rise out of him. Eventually, you had snagged the phone from him, sent a single message to him, and the texts stopped. 

 

The season has come full force and the boys had been working hard, but Jensen wasn’t sure if it would be enough. And whenever Jensen was worried, you were worried too. He had confided in you his fears and you couldn’t help but notice them play out on the field. You unconsciously stepped closer and closer until you were almost stepping off the bleachers. Jared grabbed your arm and pulled you back as you inched away. Your nerves kept you from sitting or standing still, your hands fidgeting with the pom pom you had picked up.  

 

“They’ve got this,” Jared muttered and you shook your head. 

 

“Something’s off with them. I don’t know if something happened before the game or what. They’re not playing like they usually do,” you answered. Sure you weren’t great at everything football entailed, but you knew from hours of practice how the team moved together. 

 

“Is that jerk Marcus giving Jay problems again?” he asked and you shrugged. 

 

“Not recently, at least not from what he’s told me,” you responded watching the team intently. Your eyes trained on Jensen. He always moved with purpose on the field, but never with this tension you were seeing now. They had won the first few games, but Jensen had explained how close it really had been. You bit hard on your lip as the seconds ticked down. Jensen had time for one last play. Jared instantly jumped to his feet with you following quickly. Everyone around you were standing as Jensen made a quick move to throw the ball to Misha. You tried to see above the people around you, but frustrated you ended up standing on the bench behind you. As soon as you got high enough to see, you wished you hadn’t. Just before Misha was able to catch the ball, the opposing team jumped for a perfect interception. You stood frozen in shock as they tumbled to the ground and time ran out. Misha would’ve had time to run the ball and score if he had caught it. You leaned into Jared’s shoulder as you watched Jensen fight with his emotions. Even from this distance, you could see the disappointment and anger through his body. Despite not being as invested as he was, just seeing him this disappointed broke your heart. All you wanted was to take him home and wrap with him in bed. You hopped down from the bench and turned to Sam and Jeff. He had the same frustrated stance as his son, while Sam just looked worried. You knew she didn’t care about the game, she was just as worried as you about how Jensen was going to take the hard loss. It didn’t matter if it was a football ball game or Monopoly, he had a competitive streak. 

 

“We should get to the apartment,” she said gently her hand resting on your back. It would take Jensen a while to get back. Not only did he have to change and talk to the team, but then he had to fight the crowds and traffic to get back to the apartment. You hated leaving him there, but you knew Sam was right. You sent one last longing look towards the field and Jensen, before following after the Ackles’.

 

*** 

 

His family didn’t stay too long and as soon as they were gone the two of you curled up on the couch, the TV playing Big Bang Theory reruns. His hands ran gently up and down your back as you slowly started to drift off.   
  


“I got you something by the way,” he muttered just as you were almost asleep. Groaning quietly, he shifted you off of him and went to the kitchen. You fumbled with the remote for a bit turning the volume down. He came back and tossed you something. 

 

“How did you know I forgot to grab one?” You teased. After the games it had become a habit of yours to pick up the little pom poms that were scattered about the stadium. Jensen had noticed your little collection and teased you mercilessly about it. 

 

_ “Why do you have so many of these things?” Jensen asked as he picked up one of the many pom poms scattered around your bedroom.  _

 

_ “They’re cute and free decorating?” You answered not really thinking much of it. Then you noticed how many you really had. One stuck behind your cork board, another on top of your mirror, and another tucked into your lamp.  _

 

_ “You have an obsession,” Jensen decided making you grin.  _

 

_ “Collection!” you protested. “Some people collect plates or snowglobes. Mine just happen to be a whole lot cheaper!”  _

 

“I had a feeling,” he answered and sat down next to you again, his arm coming down around your shoulders and down to your waist as you pressed yourself into his chest. 

 

“I just keep going over all the things we could’ve done differently,” he muttered as he ran his fingers absentmindedly through your hair. 

 

“There wasn’t anything that you could’ve done,” you responded knowing where he was going. It was bad enough when the team did badly, but Jensen tended to beat himself up especially hard when it was a close loss. He sighed quietly. 

 

“I know, but still. I can’t help it.” he muttered. You leaned in closer, wrapping your arms around his middle, your head resting on his chest. Your heart broke as you held him. You hated seeing him upset and even more when there was nothing anyone could do about it. It made you feel even more helpless than you already were when it came to football. 

 

“Stay?” he asked softly as the sun vanished and the rooms darkened. You pulled yourself up from the couch and held your hands out to him. 

 

“We can do better. We’re going out tonight,” you announced. “There’s a concert on campus and plenty of stuff to do downtown. You need to get out of here.” Jensen sighed a bit. The two of you didn’t go out often but it was fun when you did. You just knew that if he stayed boxed in the apartment, he wouldn’t stop thinking about the game. Getting him out would be the distraction he needed. 

 

“Really not feeling up to it,” he countered and you stood between his legs with your hands on your hips in somewhat fake annoyance. 

 

“No isn’t an answer. You’ll have fun when we get there. I’ll text Mish, you know he’s fun assuming his pants stay on,” you teased and Jensen cracked a small smile as he remembered the last concert Misha had gone to. 

 

“Misha is fun even when his pants don’t stay on,” he retorted, his little smile growing. You cocked your head to the side. 

 

“Wrong person hearing that and you could be in hot water,” you taunted holding out your hands again. This time he took them and you pulled him off the couch. You pushed him into his closet and he came out dressed in jeans and a light blue button down. He spun around slowly as you rolled his eyes at him waiting for approval. 

 

“I’m going in your t-shirt, Jay, you’re better dressed than I am,” you joked from your spot on the bed and he rolled his eyes at you. Before you could sit up he crawled on the bed. Jensen pushed you so you were lying down and he hovered above you. 

 

“Say we don’t go out. We just stay here and watch Netflix,” he asked. 

 

“Netflix and chill?” you asked and he smirked. 

 

“If that’s you want,” he retorted teasingly. 

 

“I want to get up and go. Jensen, let’s go,” you whined playfully and he rolled off of you. You pulled him up off the bed and practically drug him out the door. 

 

*** 

 

You were up long before Jensen was. A glass of water and aspirin waited for whenever he decided to wake up, but when he did, he was going to regret it. You sat up against the headboard, his TV turned down low as you scrolled facebook on your phone. A small groan from Jensen pulled your attention. 

 

“Morning sleeping beauty,” you greeted quietly. And his face twisted into a grimace in the light from the window. He turned away from the window and shoved a pillow over his head. He tended to wake up grumpy after a night out, nothing you were surprised by, but it was almost adorable how he tried to escape the morning - and the consequences of his fun. You almost felt sorry for him. Almost. 

 

“Well you had fun last night,” You teased. “I doubt you remember any of it, but we met up with Misha and a couple others. And then they gave you a few shots. Misha’s pants stayed on, I feel it’s important to mention that,” you went through the night you remembered clearly. Even though Jensen had started out a bit grumpy, he had quickly loosened up. Misha had offered to call a taxi later so you could drink with them, but you always hated the idea of not having anyone sober in the group. If someone else volunteered, you were fine, but you were perfectly okay with keeping the boys out of too much trouble. 

 

“I decided you were done maybe 2am? But it took a solid hour to get you back to the car. I swear you were like a child. You kept stopping me on the sidewalk so you could watch the traffic lights. I finally got us home and you were still in a really good mood so you tried to get your pants off - I finally helped you after you very nearly face planted on the floor, and then you started trying to get mine off. Then you started talking about Pop Tarts until you passed out and I don’t think you moved until just now,” you finished. Jensen was quiet for a long time and you thought he had fallen back asleep before he finally pushed the pillow off his face. He rolled over and his head fell into your lap. Every time you thought you were used to how adorable he was, he’d do something like that which made you fall even harder. Sure, it was a hard relationship, but he made it worth it.  

 

“You did this to me. It was your idea to go out,” he whined and you ran your fingers through his hair. 

 

“You had fun,” you pointed out, “you just don’t remember it.” Jensen groaned quietly again. 

 

“Meds on the nightstand,” you pointed out and he slowly rolled off to take the painkillers. 

 

“Did I do anything too embarrassing?” He grumbled. 

 

“Not really, besides the light thing. You were kinda cute actually,” you teased and Jensen groaned. His phone buzzed from his jeans on the other side of the room.

 

“I’ll grab it,” you muttered and you climbed off the bed. You hung over the end of the bed grabbing the phone from his pocket. 

 

“Nice view,” Jensen teased, humor finally coming back. 

 

“Ass,” you called out and you could barely hear his low laughter. You finally wrestled the phone out and sat back on the bed. 

 

“I know what I’m looking at, darlin. And what a nice ass it is,” he commented. You wanted to be annoyed at his constant teasing but it’d be a lie if you said you weren’t used to it. Not to say you didn’t throw the sass right back at him. You loved the light bickering that came effortlessly to your relationship. 

 

“Text from Coach,” you told him, passing the phone over. He opened the text and read it quietly, his lips moving as he read. 

 

“He wants to meet and go over footage in a bit,” he muttered. 

 

“And here I thought we’d have some time together,” you answered a bit of disappointment in your voice. You knew  during the season he’d be busy; you were used to having to be flexible with his schedule, but that didn’t stop you from missing him. 

 

“Yeah, I was looking forward to just staying here, but…” he trailed off and you could hear the notes of regret in his voice. You leaned over and kissed his cheek gently. 

 

“Go,” you whispered, “I promise I won’t watch any more of Game of Thrones without you,” you teased and he smirked as he climbed out of bed. 

 

“You promise?” he taunted as he pulled his jeans on. You wanted to answer but you were a bit distracted as he redressed. You didn’t put too much stock in physical looks, but that didn’t keep you from admiring your boyfriend. Especially when he knew exactly how to mess with your head as he wiggled into his jeans. He must have noticed you watching and started wiggling slowly and deliberately in some type of reverse stripper move. Finally he was fully dressed and you were still watching him. 

 

“Sorry did you say something?” You teased as he playfully glared down at you. Jensen stuck  his tongue out at you as he gathered up his stuff. 

 

“Don’t eat all the popcorn, don’t watch Game of Thrones without me, don’t let the apartment burn,” he listed and he pressed a hard kiss to your forehead. 

“I’ll be back soon.” 

 

“Hate to see you go, love to watch you leave,” you responded. Jensen scoffed out a laugh and hit you on the back of the head lightly before heading out the door. 

 

“Okay, but he won’t know if I watch a couple episodes…” you muttered to yourself grabbing the remote.


	5. Chapter 5

In the middle of the season, Jensen’s life revolved around the stadium, which meant yours did too. Between practices and games, you practically lived there. Papers were written on the hard benches, and you had lost approximately 4 packs of pens after all of them rolled away and you had no desire to chase after them. Much easier to just buy another pack. Long and boring hours had been spent there through practices - most of them leading up to this game. Games were hard for you to watch. Jensen had taken several hard hits this quarter, and it was showing in the way he was playing. You’d cringe each time he was hit and strain every time to make sure he was okay. Every time he came off the field, he collapsed down on the bench, his shoulders dropping from exhaustion. Jensen was putting so much pressure on himself that you were sure he was going to break. You wanted to help him, carry some of the weight for him, but you knew you couldn’t. Sure you could be there for him and support him, but ultimately it was on him. Everything was on him it seemed, whether you liked it or not. You watched anxiously as he prepared for a long pass to Misha. 

 

“Come on, Mish,” you muttered as they tried to run another play. You jumped up on the bench behind you to see over the heads of the rest of the crowd. Your hands instinctively covered your mouth in anticipation of the play. The other team’s defense had been rough on Jensen as they tried to get him on the ground before he could throw the ball. As the play began, you expected he was about to take another hard hit. A split second after he released the ball to Misha, the linebacker slammed into him from behind. He didn’t have time to brace himself for the impact, and the two of them crashed to the ground. It felt like ice shot through your chest as you realized what had happened. It hurt every time he was hit, you had seen too many stories of players getting permanently injured. Every time you feared the worst. 

 

You could hear the pop of his pads and snap of the his helmet hitting the ground. Your heart dropped, and you stumbled off the bleacher. Jared kept you from falling over, but his focus was entirely on his brother on the field. You fell to the seat and leaned against Sam, taking her hand in yours. Panic filled your chest as you glanced up at the screen to see the coaches gathered around Jensen. 

 

“He’s not getting up. Why isn’t he getting up?” you muttered frantically to yourself as they continued to stay on the field. The panic seized your heart and you could barely breathe. Jensen had gotten hurt on the field before, but he was always able to brush it off. You could barely see around the coaches as they surrounded him. Slowly, they tried to help him to his feet, but he quickly stumbled back to the ground. It helped to see them moving him, that meant he didn’t have a neck injury or anything. Not knowing was by far the worst part. You didn’t know how badly he had been hurt and it drove you crazy with worry. He had taken his fair share of hits in the past but that never stopped the anxiety that came from watching him lie on the field and not being able to do a thing. You felt helpless. 

 

“He’s going to be okay,” you heard Jeff mutter. You let Sam go as Jeff pulled her close to him. After what seemed like an eternity, Jensen was finally pulled to his feet, and he limped off the field. You could breathe again, but that didn’t stop your fears. You knew full and well how many injuries showed themselves after the initial impact. However, it was still a good sign he walked off instead of being taken on a stretcher. They played out the last 2 minutes of the game without him, but you weren’t watching the game. You didn’t look away from the ones looking after Jensen on the sidelines. You couldn’t tell what they were doing to him, but just the fact that he was up and moving made you feel a bit better. It also helped that you could see him instead of them taking him down to the locker rooms, but you knew he hated being taken off the field in the middle of the game. Even if he wasn’t in the game, he still wanted to be involved and watch. 

 

“Dammit,” Jared muttered, and you glanced up to watch the time run out on the clock. Another game lost that was entirely too close to being a win. You stood with Jensen’s family as the rest of the fans streamed out around you. As the crowd thinned, Jeff sighed and stood, his hands stuffed in his pockets. 

 

“He’s going to need help getting back to the apartment,” he mentioned, and Jared stood up. 

 

“I’ll go with you,” he shuffled in front of you and Sam and together they started down the stairs to the field. You watched Misha and a couple others help Jensen off the field and towards the locker room.

 

“Come on,” Sam got your attention, “we’ll meet them back at the apartment.” 

 

*** 

 

Jensen was fine when he got back. Covered in bruises and bumps and had a massive headache, but the doctor had cleared him to go home. He had instructed Jeff to keep a close eye on him, but they didn’t think he had anything beyond a minor concussion. Painkillers and rest had been ordered, and you intended to make sure he had exactly that. Normally, Jeff, Sam, and Jared went back home after the games, but they decided to stay the night in town at a hotel up the street. 

 

“Time for more meds, Jay,” you announced. You pulled yourself out of the bed next to him and made your way to the bathroom where you had stashed the bottle of prescription strength painkillers. Jensen sat in the bed scrolling down his phone, his expression darkening with every second. 

 

“You really don’t need to be on  Facebook,” you muttered passing him the pills and a glass of water. He silently took everything from you and swallowed the pills down in one gulp, but he ignored your comment. He frustrated you as he ignored your warning. You knew what those comments were going to do to him and you wanted to stop the storm before it hit. He was hurting so much, physically and emotionally that you couldn’t help but hurt with him. 

 

“Jensen, please,” you pleaded, curling up next to him. His eyes flicked shut, and he dropped his phone to his chest. 

 

“A quarterback that can’t even throw, he needs to be punched in the face! Really hard!” Jensen quoted quietly his voice almost devoid of emotions. “That’s what they’re saying about me, Y/N,” he looked up at you, and you could see the hurt and pain in his eyes. It went so much deeper than the bruises on his sides, and it nearly broke you. Tears welled up in your eyes. How people reacted to games, you’d never understand. Random strangers could be vicious and sometimes you wondered if they were even watching the same game as you. Even when they won they were still criticised for everything they did. Every kick, every pass that wasn’t perfect might as well have been a waste of time to most fans. It wasn’t fair to the team and it wasn’t fair to Jensen most of all. 

 

“And the defense, and the offense, and the couches, and the trainers, and the announcers, the whole team looks out of sync. I thought that would be fixed by now,” he continued to quote the terrible things that people were saying. 

 

“What an asshole,” you muttered, and Jensen breathed a humorless laugh. 

 

“A right asshole,” he retorted. You wanted to fight him, but couldn’t bring yourself to argue. You knew how he was after games. He saw everything as he fault and took every comment as criticism to be heard instead of crap that ought to be ignored. He was stubborn and there was nothing you could do to argue against him when he was stuck in that mindset. 

 

“Come here?” he asked, softly holding his arms out to you. Gently, you rested on him and felt him stiffly wrap his arms around you.

 

Sleep came difficulty for both of you. Every time you’d shift in your sleep, you’d instantly wake up fearing you’d hurt him even more. Slowly, you drifted further away from him until you were on the other side of the bed. You rolled over and opened your eyes to see Jensen awake again and on his phone. He was back online either reading comments from sports announcers or Facebook posts. It was just going to hurt him more than he needed and you hated seeing him hurting. It worried you having him pushing all those toxic thoughts in his head. Turning on the lamp, you pushed yourself up and leaned against the headboard. 

 

“All that mess isn’t good for you, Jay. It’s all just bull,” you muttered, and Jensen sighed. 

 

“That ‘bull’ is right,” he said, and you could hear the low anger in his voice. 

 

“Jensen, it’s not,” you started

 

“Don’t tell me it’s not true,” he interrupted harshly. “I couldn’t make that pass. I didn’t make the right throws or calls. That’s on me,” he spat out. You had seen him angry after a game, but this was a new low for him. He almost scared you, not that he’d ever hurt you. No, you were more scared of what he would do to himself. 

 

“I don’t agree with that, Jay,” you answered softly, and he scoffed. 

 

“What do you know? What do you know about the pressures that I have to deal with? These people are expecting me to perform a certain way, and if I can’t rise to that, that’s on me. You won’t understand. You can’t, and you don’t even wanna try. You just want to stay in your oblivious little bubble. You don’t care enough to try and understand what’s going on,” he snapped. His words cut deep. Jensen getting hurt felt like a cut through your heart, but his words felt like lemon juice added to it. Sure, you didn’t know every detail of football. You accepted that fact a long time ago. You could follow Jensen on the field and keep up, but you’d never fully understand what he had to deal with. He was right about that. But that didn’t stop the rest of his harsh words sting as you settled in an awkward silence. 

 

“You don’t mean that,” you whispered, tears threatening to fall. 

 

“Are you sure? Are you sure you even care? I mean what a year of this and you still barely understand the game? I don’t get you sometimes. Why are you even here? Why do you even bother trying? If you don’t get it by now, what makes you think anything is going to change?” he threw back, and the first tear rolled down your cheek. You swung your legs over the edge of the bed and turned your back on him. Wiping your cheek, you stood up. You tried to hide how much his words hurt. He was hurting just as much, you had to remember that. 

 

“I’ll talk to you tomorrow,” you muttered, slipping your shoes on. Jensen didn’t say anything as he watched you gather the your phone and keys before you headed out the door. You managed to hold back the sobs until you got settled in the front seat of the car outside your apartment. The lights finally turned off, and you were alone in the 3:20 AM quiet. Your arms crossed over the the top of your steering wheel, and you rested your forehead against them as you let out the tears you had fought to hold back. You tried to push away the tiny doubts that were creeping into your mind. Over and over again you had to remind yourself he didn’t mean it. He didn’t really mean any of the things he said, but that didn’t stop it from pushing you to the breaking point. He didn’t see how hard it was to watch him destroy himself after every game. Slowly, you collected yourself, brushed the leftover tears off your cheeks and got yourself into the apartment.    
  


Your bed didn’t offer any comfort. You tossed and turned the rest of the night, never really sleeping. Eventually, you watched the windows slowly light up as the sun rose. You rolled to face the TV and turned it on, needing some kind of noise and distraction. You lay in bed, staring at the ceiling until your phone buzzed with texts from you mother. 

 

_ How is Jensen holding up? _ She asked. 

 

_ It’s not good  _ you shot back. You debated telling her everything, everything Jensen said to you, but you knew he didn’t mean what he said, not really. The little grey bubble caught your attention as she wrote back. 

 

_ I saw some of the stuff people were talking about yesterday, it was uncalled for. They’re kids. KIDS. I exercised my mom love and called him on it. I don’t know the entire team, but they’re my kids anyway. I adopt them all.  _

 

You felt yourself tear up again. She didn’t even know everything but still knew what you - and Jensen - needed to hear. You took a screenshot of the conversation and your finger hovered above Jensen’s name. You wanted him to know that even though there were critics out there, there were just as many supporters. 

 

“He needs it as much as I do,” you whispered to yourself before finally sending the message. 

 

_ I don’t understand all the pressures you carry, but that doesn’t change the fact that you don’t have to carry them alone. _

 

The morning passed quietly as you worked on some homework. You had planned to spend the day at Jensen’s helping Misha with a paper, but Misha had texted not to worry about it. A gentle knock at your front door pulled you from your work. You pulled Jensen’s sweatshirt over your head and stuffed your hands in the pockets. It was a comfort to you, as if he was surrounding you instead of just his hoodie. You pulled the door open to show Jensen leaning against the doorjamb. 

“Hey,” he greeted quietly, his usual softness returning. It had only been one night, but you hadn’t realized how much you missed him. 

 

“Jensen! What are you doing here? You should be in bed!” you scolded and let him in. He moved stiffly and slowly as he came through the small apartment. Gently, you helped him down onto the couch. You were happy to see him, but it scared you seeing him out of bed. You let your selfishness take over, you wanted him with you more than wanting him in bed. The two of you needed to be together, you needed to talk.

 

“You should be resting,” you reiterated, but he waved you off. Your emotions were all over the place. Sure you were still hurt by everything he had said, but that didn’t change anything. You knew he was just being affected by the hard loss, and it wasn’t against you personally. 

 

“I needed to apologize in person. I shouldn’t have lashed out at you. It wasn’t your fault,” he grabbed you and pulled you to stand between his legs, his arms around your waist. “I’m so sorry,” he muttered. You stepped out of his hold and sat down on the couch next to him. He looked exhausted, like he had stayed up the rest of the night either thinking about the comments or what he had said to you. Either way, he was tired. 

 

“Jay, win or lose, I love you for you. I didn’t fall for the university football player. I fell for the dork that dumped coffee on me.” A small smile graced his features as the memory came back. “I’m here for you, no matter what happens. and nothing is going to change that.” You reached out and cupped his cheek gently running your thumb across the light freckles there. His eyes flicked shut as he let you caress him. Your heart swelled as he leaned into your touch. If someone had told you that you’d fall so hard for him that day in the coffee shop, you’d never would have believed it. You had always heard stories of falling in love, but that didn’t change the surprise every time you realized how hard you had fallen. 

 

“I still feel terrible about all the things I said” he muttered, “but I love you, too. So much.” His eyes opened, and he gently pulled you into his arms. 

 

“Come on,” you muttered. “You get some rest.” You had to help Jensen get to the bedroom, his every move stiff and sore. As soon as both of you were settled,3 both of you fell asleep, exhausted from not really sleeping the night before. It was never going to be easy. There would be ups and downs, but you had no doubts that the two of you would make it through. 


	6. Chapter 6

You had watched the team improve for two long years. Two years since you had met Jensen, two of the best years of your life. Your senior year kicked off a new season. You and Jensen had continued to grow closer. When his lease ran out the two of you had a long talk about what you wanted to do. Eventually, you decided it would be easier to have one place. Both of you were already splitting your time between the two, never really staying apart often. However, even after the long talk,  in the end, it was an easy decision. He had moved in with you. You loved coming home from class, work, or wherever you had gone, you always came home to him. 

 

The team as a whole was doing better this year. So good in fact that they had gone all the way to the national championship. To the rest of the world, Jensen was calm, cool, collected; a team leader who knew exactly what he was doing, but you saw him when his walls came down. He was nervous. The night before the game, he couldn’t sleep. At first you were worried how the lack of sleep would affect him, but you knew ultimately he’d do what needed to be done. You stayed up with him as long as you could, but you eventually lost the battle with sleep. 

 

“Babe, you gotta let me go,” Jensen whispered as he tried to move you. 

 

“No,” you muttered sleepily and pushed your face to his chest. You didn’t want him to move. It was warm with him in the massive hotel room bed. You were perfectly content to keep him all to yourself in the early hours of the morning before the sun was up. Somewhere in your mind you knew you’d have to let him go, but with the late night getting into the hotel room, it felt like he had just gotten to sleep before he had to get up. 

 

“Just a couple more minutes?” you asked, hoping he would stay. He smiled a bit before he moved you off of him. 

 

“I’ve given you all the minutes I have, babe,” he muttered. You curled deeper into the fluffy blankets as he gathered all his things into a book bag. The bed dipped behind you just as you were almost back to sleep. 

 

“Do I get a kiss for good luck?” Jensen asked, and you rolled over to face him, practically rolling into his lap. You didn’t open your eyes, knowing if you did you’d wake up more than you wanted. 

 

“You don’t need luck,” you muttered, and he ran his fingers through your messy hair. By this point, you were over him staying with you. Now all you wanted was to go back to sleep. 

 

“Yeah, but this is the big game. Better safe than sorry,” he insisted, and you cracked one of your eyes open. Sure you loved the guy, but it was hard to love someone when they were trying to wake you up at the asscrack of dawn. Lucky for him he was too adorable to stay mad at.  

 

“Fine, but you’re going to have to come down here to get it,” you teased. Jensen smiled gently at you before ducking down and pressing a light kiss to your lips. He pulled away and pressed his forehead to yours. You loved the quiet moments with him. Not that the precious quiet would last long. The kickoff at noon loomed over you both. As excited as you, Jensen, and the rest of the team were, all of you honestly just wanted it to be over. It was just stress on everyone, more stress than you particularly wanted in your life. Regular football season was enough for you, big championship games you could live without.  

 

“Coach is going to have my ass if I’m late,” he muttered. Finally, he pulled away, and you let him go. He pressed a light kiss to your forehead before heading out. Slowly, you drifted back to sleep until your alarm blared a couple hours later. Rolling out of bed, you threw one of Jensen’s jerseys on over a pair of thick leggings. You were lucky one of your favorite outfits was one of the most comfortable. You loved it not only for the physical comfort of giant shirts, but also knowing it was Jensen’s. You loved having his name spread across your back. You were his, and you didn’t mind everyone knowing it. Knowing full and well you’d be thrown into some type of spotlight, you spent a bit of extra time getting ready, even as Jared came in and waited on the bed while you got ready.

 

“Did you ever ask that girl out?” you asked, pulling on your tennis shoes. Glancing up at him, you noticed the blush rising to his cheeks. 

 

“You did!” you gushed, and he nodded grinning. “What’s her name again? Jennifer?” 

 

“Genevieve or just Gen,” he answered. 

 

“She’s cute,” you commented smirking. It was adorable how he had fallen. He had frantically texted you one day asking for advice about a girl. He said he knew Jensen would just tease him, and he didn’t want to mess this up. Jensen had still teased him, but it seemed to have gone well. 

 

“She’s cute and smart and funny,” he started to list with a dreamy look on his face. 

  
“And you’re smitten,” you interjected and he nodded. 

 

“Very,” he confirmed as a knock interrupted both of you. Sam stuck her head in the door. 

 

“You kids ready?” she asked, and you grabbed your phone from the bed and tucked it into the hidden pocket in the back of your leggings. Nerves started to set in as the reality of how important the game was set in. Every once in awhile you wished you were able to enjoy games like everyone else. Games were stressful. Not just the threat of Jensen being hurt, but then just the competitive nature of the game. It was important to Jensen, so it was important to you. 

 

The entire atmosphere of new stadium was different. The energy was more intense than you were used to. The families of the players were set up in a certain section, Coach managing to put you and the others right on the sidelines, as close to the field as you could get. As you came into the stadium through the family entrance, they passed out lanyards giving you permission to enter the field to find Jensen afterwards. 

 

From the very beginning, the game was a nailbiter. The boys played their hardest. They were working together better than they ever had before, any past issues working themselves out.  Regardless, it was a hard game to watch. The lead had bounced back and forth between the two teams until the clock had run down to only 5 seconds left on the clock, and they were short by only 3 points. The boys moved from their huddle and set up to run the play. You and everyone around you were on your feet in anticipation. Jensen had the ball and was lined up on the 3 yard line. Half the stadium was in chaotic yelling, the other in nervous silence. It didn’t feel like butterflies in your stomach, more like a hornet’s nest after a child had thrown a rock at it. The world slowed and hushed around you as the final play started. As soon as the ball was in motion, Jensen jumped back looking to make a pass. No one was open for him. Your heart threatened to beat out of your chest when you saw the opposing linebacker make a rush for him. There was nothing you could do, not way to warn him. All you could do was stand there and watch it happen. You didn’t know if Jensen could see the massive linebacker headed straight towards him. At the last possible second, Jensen spun out of the way and lunged for the end zone. You watched as he fought his way through the defense and barely cross the line.  The crowd erupted around you as the touchdown call was made. Screams were deafening, and Jared pulled you into a bone crushing hug. In all the excitement, you barely even noticed them kicking the extra point, letting them win with a 4 point lead. You were so proud of the team. They had worked so hard to get to this point. They had overcome so many obstacles you couldn’t help but be just as excited as they were.  

 

The crowd around you pushed and pulled until somehow you managed to find your way onto the field. Jared had kept a strong hand on your shoulder as he towered above most of the crowd. A giddy excitement filled you as you and Jared moved to find Jensen. You were like a kid on Christmas morning or the night before their birthday. 

 

“Over there!” Jared shouted, but you could barely hear him. He steered and moved you until you finally found Jensen. He was sweaty and gross, but you didn’t care as he scooped you up in a deep kiss. Your arms wrapped around his neck as he spun you around, your legs came up to circle his waist. . 

 

“Congrats, Jay.” You giggled as he finally pulled away without setting you down. 

“I’m so proud of you!” you exclaimed, and he laughed. 

 

Pure joy radiated from him. You never wanted this moment to end as he kissed you again. Cameras flashed around you, but neither of you cared, lost in your own moment. The two of you had been through so much together, highs and lows, wins and losses. It had been hard. Jensen and the team had worked so hard. Finally it had paid off, and you had been there every step of the way. He pulled away from you again. 

 

“Marry me,” he blurted. 

 

“Wait what?” you instantly responded as his words sunk in. Sure, you had talked about things like marriage before, but you were still caught off guard. 

 

“Marry me?” he repeated, this time more of a question. You were still speechless. Slowly he set you back down on the ground, but you still had your arms around his neck. Gently, you pulled him down to you and captured his lips with yours. The shock and awe of his proposal faded as he held you in his strong arms. He made you feel so safe and protected. You knew deep in your heart and soul that you’d never want to be with anyone else. He was the perfect fit for you, and you never wanted to let him go. 

 

“Yes, Jensen, yes,” you breathed, and a laugh bubbled up. “Yes!” you repeated. At first you thought Jensen couldn’t smile any bigger, but it wasn’t his smile itself that changed. He still had the same elation and pure joy, but he was still softer somehow. In that moment you knew for certain that nothing, not even winning one of the biggest games of his career could outshine his love for you. You loved him so much and couldn’t imagine living your life without him. You wouldn’t have to. The two of you would make it together. Besides, if you could survive football season, what else could life throw at you? 


	7. Epilogue

For once, something was effortlessly perfect. You had anticipated a million problems. Conflicts with Jensen’s work schedule, along with moving to a new city, had its challenges. That and dealing with the wedding party itself. Actually, just dealing with Misha. He had tried his best to mess with the plans even suggesting the first dance be the chicken dance, but everything had gone perfectly. The preparation. The ceremony. Everything went off without a hitch. Now you could just relax and celebrate. Jensen had picked the first dance  [ song ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-cbOl96RFM) . He pulled you close as the music started and you swayed in his arms. 

 

“So how’s your day been, Mrs. Ackles?” Jensen teased and you couldn’t stop smiling even to tease him back. 

 

“My day’s been wonderful,” you answered honestly. Nothing had made you feel more content than this. Your focus was solely on him, and his on you as the two of you shared the first quiet moment you had to yourself. The day had been a whirlwind of excitement all coming to a gentle time for just the two of you. Everything was perfect.

 

“This could end one of two ways,” Jensen mused as he twirled you around. 

 

“How?” You indulged him. 

 

“Either it could go absolutely flawlessly, or Jared and Misha could still create chaos. There is still time for that,” he replied. You burst into laughter and leaned your forehead against his shoulder. 

 

“If either of them try it they’ll have me to deal with,” you reminded and he seemed to think over that for a second or two. 

 

“You’re not wrong,” he decided making you descend into a fit of giggles again. The music slowed to a gentle stop and Jensen pulled you close to him again before pressing a light kiss on your forehead. A round of light applause pulled you out of the reverie. A slow song started again and a few people joined you on the dance floor. Jared and Gen made their way out to join you along with Sam and Jeff. After it seemed like hours of dancing you and Jensen finally fell back into your seats giggling like middle schoolers. You watched the other couples dancing for a while before finally they started making their way back to their seats. 

 

A light clink on a glass floated over the noise coming from the small crowd. Slowly the noise died down, and Misha stood from his place at the long table. It has surprised you how well most of the team cleaned up, everyone dressed in their suits. Most had been on their best behavior. Even within the past 8 months after graduating Jensen and the rest of the team stayed close. Which created its own problems with how they all knew exactly how to press both your buttons.  It only took one threat from you. Over the years they had learned not to cross you, especially with this particular occasion. Of course, most didn’t mean Misha. 

 

“Now I know the best man is traditionally the speech maker,” he nodded towards Jared, ”but I couldn’t resist the opportunity to offer a toast.” He held out the flute of champagne. 

 

“To Jensen and Y/N. You had a rough start. I was there for it. Jay, there are better ways to get a girl’s number than dumping coffee on her.” A little laugh that rippled across the room. You should’ve known he was going to bring that up.  Misha never missed an opportunity to embarrassed Jensen. Granted, it was more amusing to you than it was to Jensen. You weren’t the butt of most of his jokes. 

“You had a rough middle. To many, football is a religion, and Jensen is our fearless leader, our Pope you could say.” Jensen cracked a smile at the joke. It wasn’t a new joke to them, Misha had made it several times throughout the years. He was right though. It was hard, but you made it through. The two of you never broke. When things got hard, you never cracked under the pressure or let it push you apart.” Jensen reached under the table and grabbed your hand gently. You squeezed back and didn’t let him go. The two of you were married, you didn’t have to let go. Misha continued his speech. 

“You’re stronger as a team, and you’ll weather every storm.” He wasn’t wrong. It had been a rough 3 years for the two of you, but you came out of everything stronger than before. You had leaned on Jensen in hard times with school, and he had leaned on you just as much. The two of you were exactly how Misha described, a team. Of course you had the problems every couple had, but nothing was big enough to pull you apart. 

“So with that,” Misha held his glass high, “to the bride and groom! The groom that 3 years ago I tripped in a coffee shop in order to get him to talk to the bride for the first time. May you have a beautiful life together.” 

 

A loud round of applause rolled through the rest of the guests as you leaned into Jensen’s shoulder laughing. 

 

“Did he really trip you?” You gasped out between laughs and Jensen just looked up in awe at his best friend. 

 

“Did you really trip me?” He asked the same question. Misha nodded vigorously. 

 

“Cause you were going to talk to her on your own? Please. I know you better than that. You just needed some encouragement,” he smirked and straightened his bow tie smugly. You wanted to be mad. You wanted to be so furious with him, but the only thing you could do was laugh. 

 

“You tripped me…” Jensen repeated quietly. 

 

“I tripped you and you met your future wife. I’m pretty sure that means you have to name a kid after me,” Misha leaned back in his chair. Jensen was about to respond but you quickly pulled him out of his chair and back to the dance floor. He spun you around gracefully and pulled you into his arms. 

 

“All of this because Misha tripped me,” Jensen muttered. He leaned down and pressed his forehead against yours. 

“I’m so glad Misha tripped me,” he whispered and you giggled. You didn’t want to even think about what you life would be like if you hadn’t met Jensen. Just the idea was inconceivable to you. One of Jensen’s arms wrapped around your waist and to your stomach. 

 

“I’m just glad we got you in a dress,” he muttered and you grinned a bit. His fingers gently ran over the barely there bump.

 

“Another month and I wouldn’t have,” you whispered back in his ear. “And we are most definitely not naming them after Misha,”      


End file.
